


Fork in the Road

by estonian_supernatural_fan



Category: Sweet Home (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Gen, Jeong Jae-heon lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-10 23:15:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28195302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/estonian_supernatural_fan/pseuds/estonian_supernatural_fan
Summary: What if Hyun-su had turned a bit earlier?
Comments: 15
Kudos: 180





	1. Chapter 1

_I want to protect them. I have to protect them._

***  
A spiked appendage sliced through the air.

Jin-ok stared in shock as the appendage hit the former security guard and sent him flying into the wall near the elevator.

A second later, the owner of said appendage approached the scene. 

_Cha Hyun-su! He turned?_

Jae-heon startled and raised his sword to meet him but Hyun-su paid him no heed.

He stalked towards the other, who raised his weed whacker.

Jae-heon observed Hyun-su’s behaviour.

_If that creature is any part Hyun-su then he will want to keep us safe._

He approached the pair cautiously and pressed the button.

Hyun-su spared him a glance from his pitch-black eyes and lifted the security guard up by his collar and threw him into the elevator.

The others arrived and took in the scene before them, shocked to see Hyun-su’s new form. 

He straddled the fallen security guard as the doors closed.

A scuffle followed.

PFP!

Fleshy spikes pierced through the elevator doors.

There seemed to be no more movement inside the elevator and the spikes receded.

They waited with bated breath.

Silence.

"D-do you think they killed each other?"

"What, you want to go and check?"

Eun-hyeok moved towards the elevator tentatively and peered inside.

The former security guard had been turned to mush, if he hadn’t known it had previously been a human, he wouldn’t have guessed it. Hyun-su laid in said mush, face down. His shirt was torn to pieces and his back was covered in filth. A cut on his side bled profusely, but was stitching itself back up.

“The guard is dead. Even monsters couldn’t possibly recover from… this.”

“What about Hyun-su?” Said Jin-ok.

“I can’t tell, he doesn’t seem to be severely injured, but he’s unconscious. What should we do?”

“Burn them now!” shouted Jae-hwan. 

“We can’t burn Hyun-su!” Eun-yu interjected.

“He’s not human anymore, we can’t risk it!”

“He saved our lives! Even now, as a monster, he’s looking out for us.”

“Maybe he just wanted to fight, have you thought of that.”

“Should we hold a vote?”  
  
***

“All those in favor of burning the remains of Mr. Kim and Cha Hyun-su, mark your papers with an O. Those who want to wait until Cha Hyun-su wakes up, should he do so, before taking any further actions, mark your papers with an X.”

***  
The survivors walked back to the elevator.

Jae-heon, having the most faith in Hyun-su out of those who could fight, went to press the button again.

The doors opened, almost painstakingly slowly.

The situation had remained the same. Hyun-su still laid in the puddle, unresponsive. 

Jae-heon poked him gently with the end of his sheathed sword, not wanting to touch him directly.

No response.

He pushed him over, and Hyun-su finally twitched. The crowd watching raised their weapons.

Hyun-su opened his eyes, those of a normal human, and said: “What happened?”


	2. Chapter 2

The gate was raised. Hyun-su stepped outside, holding his spear.

The decision had been to send him to gather supplies outside. The previous attempt had gone poorly after all. 

Hyun-su understood them. If he were in their shoes, he probably wouldn’t trust a monster either. _No, it’s not that they don’t trust me and want me gone. They trust me to get them food and water. Gotta think positively._

He turned around to look at everyone one last time before he left, but did not say good-bye.

***  
The supermarket was only a few minute walk away. He hadn’t been given a car, because he didn’t know how to drive and because it would attract too much attention.

So far, it had been quiet. No monsters and obviously no humans.

He used the moment to think about what the future held. Looting supermarkets only works for so long. They needed to become self-sufficient. Farming? Does anyone in Green Home even know how to farm? Maybe his next stop should be the library. But where to farm?

He arrived.

The supermarket had already been looted, but he stepped in to see what he could get. 

There were a few 5-liter bottles of water. All granola bars had been taken. There was some ramyeon, which he stuffed into his backpack. Would feed us them for a day or two.

_Do monsters need to eat?_

_Why are most monsters violent anyway?_

_Revenge?_

_Instinct?_

Hyun-su had not felt the need to hurt anyone. He shook his head and continued his task.  
Overall, a lot of the food had spoiled.

He went to the candy section and smiled to himself, thinking about how happy Su-yeong and Yeong-su would be if they got candy. It wasn’t on his list, but it wasn’t so heavy it would make a difference.

Next up, he went to look for the things Du-shik needed for his creations.

With his backpack filled to the brim and two 5 L bottles in his left hand, he left the store.

***  
HYAAARRRGHH!

Hyun-su dropped the bottles and grasped his spear tightly.

He looked around and noticed a monster about 100 m away from him.

It was the size of an average human, but had long claws.

It was not facing Hyun-su, _because it was attacking someone else._

Hyun-su jumped into action.  
He dashed towards the creature, making as little noise as possible.

When he was only a couple meters away, he leapt into the air, hoping to spear the being in the back.

Something had given him away. 

It turned around and smacked Hyun-su, making him fly several meters. He had gotten scratched, but the wounds healed immediately.

The monster focused on the pair it’d been attacking before. The woman had a machete she waved threateningly. Her companion, a middle-aged man laid on the ground, bleeding from a gash on his thigh.

It swiped, she dodged.

She sliced its arm and it howled.

Even though the young woman seemed to put up against the monster, she showed signs of exhaustion. 

Hyun-su pushed himself up from the ground and sprinted towards them.

The stranger noticed him and distracted the monster by slashing its outreaching arm again.

Gssss.

His knife slid into the flesh as though it were butter. 

Electricity coursed through the being and it collapsed.

Hyun-su sighed in relief.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

The woman, already kneeling next to her partner, said: “I’m fine. He’s not.”

“Oh yeah, right.”

She tore off a part of her shirt to bandage his wound. Luckily, it was on the outer side of his thigh, otherwise he might’ve bled out already.

“Where are you staying?” Hyun-su asked.

She looked at him, vigilant. “See that house over there? Five stories, red truck in front?”

“Yes. I live in Green Home, by the way.”  
The expression on her face showed that she didn’t really care, but she nodded curtly.

The man leant on her shoulder as she helped him up.

“I can help!” Hyun-su offered, and already rushed to his side.

Neither of them argued, so Hyun-su abandoned his backpack and hoisted the man on his back.

At last, the older man said something: “We haven’t met any other survivors before, are there many others with you?”

“Uh yeah, quite a few.”

“And they sent you out alone?”

Hyun-su froze.

“Well, it’s mostly old people and there are also a few kids, so we can’t all go out together, y’know? If something happened they would be screwed. We’ve already lost so many people…” He rattled off, hoping they wouldn’t question him.

The man hummed. “There’s eight of us.”

They reached the apartment building and Hyun-su let the man off his back.

“I should go now, um. I hope you’ll live well.” He bowed and turned back to where they came from.

“Wait!”

“Hmm?”

“If you need anything, you can come by anytime. Saved our asses back there.”

Hyun-su smiled and walked away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so this one is a bit of a filler, but the next chapter will be more interesting, I hope. I had to break it into parts, otherwise it would be too long.
> 
> It's cool that so many people read my story already! I didn't think that anyone was interested really, because there are no other works in this fandom. Thank you for the kudos!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter this time. Writer's block got me bad, haha. I didn't know what to do with Jae-heon and Ji-su, but I didn't want to just leave them out so ... yeah.
> 
> Thank you for all the positive feedback! I was very surprised that so many people liked my story. I didn't (don't) think it's very good, but I guess I should follow the two cakes theory. (Author - "Aw man that guy's cake is way better than mine." / Audience - "Holy shit! Two cakes!")

Hyun-su quickened his step as he made it back to the apartment building.  
He dropped his backpack at the gate and stepped back. Eun-hyeok stood on the other side, to pick it up.

The gate was raised.

Eun-hyeok picked the bag up, maintaining eye contact the whole time.

The gate was lowered.

Hyun-su stood on the same spot the whole time, gazing at the people in the building solemnly.

***  
“Hey,” Ji-su said as she hobbled to the main room.

Jae-heon startled. “Ji-su-sshi-” 

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said.

Jae-heon smiled warmly.

***  
Hyun-su sat on the ground, back towards the apartment building. Eun-yu sat on the other side of the gate.

“I think it’s bullshit that they won’t let you in,” she said.

“... I don’t mind, I get it.” 

“Do you feel like killing people and ripping them to pieces?”

“N-no.” He turned his head to look at Eun-yu.

She wagged a finger. “See! God, you really need to stop being such a pushover.”

Hyun-su gazed off into the distance.

“But… I don’t remember.”

“What? Turning?”

Hyun-su nodded slightly. “What if- what if it was unintentional. That I didn’t hurt you.”

“Ya! Jae-heon told us all about it, no way. You’re just… different.”

_Maybe you just want to believe that._

Hyun-su stayed silent.

He felt … different. Even though he was sitting on the cold hard ground, he didn’t feel uncomfortable in the slightest. And yet, he didn’t feel numb either. Just... not that there.

It worried him and it didn’t at the same time.

_Should I be hungry by now? When did I last eat?_

_Should I drink some water?_

_All living creatures need sustenance. But am I even alive?_

_Are monsters like those moths that don’t have mouths and only live some days?_

_Why?_

_Why do we exist?_


End file.
